What is 10,000 Families?

What is the 10,000 Families Study?

10,000 Families (10KFS) is a study of family health in Minnesota. 10KFS invites families to participate over time with the purpose of understanding the influences of genetics, lifestyle, and environment on health and illness. 10KFS is a cohort study; it should last for many years so we can see the changes that happen over time. 

For a family to become part of the study, at least one member of the family must live in Minnesota and be 18 years of age or older. At least one additional family member of any age must live in Minnesota or in a neighboring state (North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa or Wisconsin). To find out if your family is eligible, please visit our eligibility survey.

Once an eligible family has signed up for the study, participation involves completing an online survey, providing samples either at the University of Minnesota or in your home, and return of at home tests. We will check in with you every few years to find out how you are doing. No travel is required for this study. 

For more information about what you would need to do as a participant, please visit “What do I need to do?” 

Our Story 

Our team includes experienced researchers who have worked for many years in the School of Public Health and the Medical School at the University of Minnesota.  We have a passion for understanding what affects our health and well-being. The 10,000 Families Study provides an opportunity to gather information that can be used to develop better advice on how to live a healthy life and to guide policies to promote health and reduce illness. Please visit our team page to learn more about our team. 

In 2017 we started the 10,000 Families Study to address the unique health needs of Minnesota. For example, Minnesota has a large population living in rural areas, where exposures to environmental factors are very different than in urban areas.  Further, communities of color are growing in numbers. Today 25% of all new births in the state are from those communities. Equally important, Minnesota has 11 American Indian reservations and a large urban American Indian population--more than most cities and states. 

Some things we expect to learn from the Study: 

• How  the microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, etc., present in the gastrointestinal tract (called “microbiome”) affect a person’s health
• How common exposures in our environment influence our risk of cancer.
• Why some groups of people suffer from poor health more than others (health disparities)
• How new exposures like vaping/e-cigarettes affect health
• How and why common diseases get transmitted from one generation to another

We also want to provide other health researchers with a source of information they can use to do more research to benefit health now and into the future. We can do this by sharing data without any identifying information with other groups of researchers.  

Is 10KFS working with other groups of researchers? 

The 10,000 Families Study is one of four new research studies funded by the National Cancer Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to understand how environmental exposures influence cancer risk. The goals of the Cohorts for Environmental Exposures and Cancer Risk (CEECR) program are to support novel scientific research in new cohort studies that address gaps in our understanding of how our everyday environment impacts our risk of cancer. These cohorts are currently recruiting participants in 24 states (including Minnesota) and are focused on including groups of people who aren't typically included in research studies. You can learn more about research in the CEECR program by visiting the CEECR research website. 

Why do we need 10KFS?

We are all exposed to many chemicals in our environment as part of our everyday life. Some of these chemicals haven't been around for a long time, and we need more information about how they impact our health. A cohort study, like 10KFS, can help us understand the impact of many different exposures on health outcomes. The family design is also unique because it will help us understand health in families. Ideally this study will go on for many years to benefit future generations of Minnesota families.

What our participants say about their experience with 10KFS:

“We were glad to support this study on family health. The process [at the health visit] was smooth and easy, the people were friendly, and made it a very pleasant morning!”--Kristin

“I am participating in this study with my family to help researchers learn more about how to keep families healthy.  It is so interesting how we are each born with genetic patterns, but we have lots of choices we can make to be healthier.  I want to help learn more about the connection there.”--Maria

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to demonstrate a piece of the scientific/research process to my son.  I’m hoping the results can help Minnesota to provide a healthy environment for all our children and families to grow up in.”--Eric

Have more questions? Please review our frequently asked questions